Prawns with recao verde cream

Today’s recipe tastes like Panama. I’m quite sure that if you are Panamanian, when you try it, you’ll give me the reason.

When I was a child and living in Panama, the recao verde was bought at “Sr. Santos”, in the vegetable stall on the corner of my street. Many years later, the stall is still there, although now it is called the “Muchachos“, probably children or grandchildren of old Mr Santos, and my mother keeps going there almost every day to buy her veggies and listen to the most recent events in the neighborhood.

The recao verde, for those of you who do not know, is the core of Panamanian cuisine. It is composed of a few leaves of coriander, a bunch of parsley, chives, a piece of onion and sometimes also green pepper, all wrapped in a piece of brown paper (kind of a bouquet garni). With these ingredients, a little garlic and chopped tomato you will have the beginning of a delicious sofrito.

Curiously, the combination of these flavors reminds me of those simpler times, when there was no danger in sending your children to the corner to buy recao verde and it cost a few pennies.

With this easy recipe you will succeed; the spectacular result, both aesthetically and in taste, will leave your diners begging for more. Plus, it’s an original BlueJellybeans recipe!.

As the prawns or shrimp are already cooked, we will make the cream of recao verde (ta-chan!).

Chop the garlic, onions and recao verde, melt the butter in a pan over medium heat, add the onion and let it brown a little, then the garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes so it takes color but doesn’t burn , finally add the recao verde and sauté a few more minutes. Add the white wine and let it reduce slightly.

In a separate bowl, mix the milk, the crème fraîche and the flour and stir well. Add it to the pan and stir until thickened, seasoned to taste.

This time I used individual ramequines, but you can use a large baking dish if you prefer.

Put about 2 tablespoons of the cream in the bottom of the molds, place about 4 prawns on top and cover with 2 or 3 tablespoons of the cream, sprinkle a little breadcrumbs and put a few small pieces of butter.

Bake about 10 minutes until the butter is melted and the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Hi Karen!! Sorry for the delay in responding.
I hope you find everything you need to make this delicious dish. I have family from Panama this week at home and they already demanded to taste it, so this week I’ll have to make it again. Luckily for me it is easy to make 🙂
Take care!
Giovanna